McRackin
Super Moderator
taken from the website of the IBATUR (institut balear de turisme):
Come celebrate the Christmas season
Enjoy the holidays in the Ibizas’ mild climate
The Christmas holidays are coming to Ibiza, bringing with them the traditional customs and new festivities that charm visitors. Ibiza offer celebrations which combine traditional customs and modern events. The lights and decoration on the Ibizas’ streets and plazas are enticements to prolonging the day outdoors with a stroll after sunset in the mild Mediterranean winter.
From early December on, monumental nativity scenes are mounted in churches, town halls and shopping centres. The origins of this tradition can be traced back to thirteenth-century Italy and became widespread in the late eighteenth century. January 3rd is Formentera’s patron saint’s day (wrong, its on december 3rd - Mc), Sant Francesc Xavier, which coincides with pork slaughtering and the preparation of products to be consumed during the holidays and all through winter.
Traditionally Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, known as Mediana fiesta, are especially important holidays. When the family dinner is finished on Christmas Eve, people attend Missa de matines (midnight mass), after which caramelles de Nadal are sung in some parishes. Caramelles de Nadal are a special type of redoblat, or improvised Ibizan folksong, which in this case is a religious song in honour of the Virgin Mary interpreted by a trio of caramellers: one sonador, a musician, with a flute and drum and two cantadors, or singers, one with castanets and the other with spoons. Although the themes of these songs correspond to caramelles or gozos from Catalonia, they are not musically related, as redoblats date back from before the arrival of the Catalans.
Transcriptions exist from the fourteenth century and they are still being sung in the Pitiüsan Islands (Ibiza and Formentera). Given their cultural and historical importance, the Department of Historical Heritage of the Ibiza and Formentera Island Council, considers protecting them an urgent need and have initiated the procedure to have them officially declared Immaterial Items of Cultural Interest.
As the saying goes, Per Nadal, cada un al seu corral (that is, at Christmastime, everyone at home), these are family celebrations traditionally accompanied by special dishes prepared in advance, beginning with matances, or pork slaughtering, which in olden days had to provide meat, sobrassades and butifarres (two of the Balearic Islands’ most popular sausages), bacon and other food for the whole year and especially for the Christmas holidays. The stellar dish is sofrit pagès, a combination of boiled chicken and lamb enriched with botifarra and sobrassada. Salsa de Nadal is a typical dessert served only at Christmas, which uses meat broth with a variety of sweet and savoury ingredients featuring crushed almonds. This sauce is prepared before Christmas Day and made in a large enough quantities to last until after Epiphany. It is served as is or accompanied by a slice of coc de Nadal (Christmas sponge cake).
Music pervades all these holidays with a special place for Christmas carols. Choirs on the island perform delightful traditional Christmas carols in churches and auditoriums and New Year’s Day is ushered in with concerts in many places.
Sports lovers can top off the year on December 31st by taking part in the many races held that day. At night, there is wide choice of restaurants, hotels and clubs to see the year out in or the twelve chimes of midnight can be followed in village and city squares to the accompaniment of music.
On January 5th, the eve of Epiphany, the cavalcade of the Three Wise Men becomes the protagonist almost all over the islands, a magical evening for children. The Wise Men arrive by land or by sea, laden with presents and the processions usually conclude with fireworks displays.
Come celebrate the Christmas season
Enjoy the holidays in the Ibizas’ mild climate
The Christmas holidays are coming to Ibiza, bringing with them the traditional customs and new festivities that charm visitors. Ibiza offer celebrations which combine traditional customs and modern events. The lights and decoration on the Ibizas’ streets and plazas are enticements to prolonging the day outdoors with a stroll after sunset in the mild Mediterranean winter.
From early December on, monumental nativity scenes are mounted in churches, town halls and shopping centres. The origins of this tradition can be traced back to thirteenth-century Italy and became widespread in the late eighteenth century. January 3rd is Formentera’s patron saint’s day (wrong, its on december 3rd - Mc), Sant Francesc Xavier, which coincides with pork slaughtering and the preparation of products to be consumed during the holidays and all through winter.
Traditionally Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, known as Mediana fiesta, are especially important holidays. When the family dinner is finished on Christmas Eve, people attend Missa de matines (midnight mass), after which caramelles de Nadal are sung in some parishes. Caramelles de Nadal are a special type of redoblat, or improvised Ibizan folksong, which in this case is a religious song in honour of the Virgin Mary interpreted by a trio of caramellers: one sonador, a musician, with a flute and drum and two cantadors, or singers, one with castanets and the other with spoons. Although the themes of these songs correspond to caramelles or gozos from Catalonia, they are not musically related, as redoblats date back from before the arrival of the Catalans.
Transcriptions exist from the fourteenth century and they are still being sung in the Pitiüsan Islands (Ibiza and Formentera). Given their cultural and historical importance, the Department of Historical Heritage of the Ibiza and Formentera Island Council, considers protecting them an urgent need and have initiated the procedure to have them officially declared Immaterial Items of Cultural Interest.
As the saying goes, Per Nadal, cada un al seu corral (that is, at Christmastime, everyone at home), these are family celebrations traditionally accompanied by special dishes prepared in advance, beginning with matances, or pork slaughtering, which in olden days had to provide meat, sobrassades and butifarres (two of the Balearic Islands’ most popular sausages), bacon and other food for the whole year and especially for the Christmas holidays. The stellar dish is sofrit pagès, a combination of boiled chicken and lamb enriched with botifarra and sobrassada. Salsa de Nadal is a typical dessert served only at Christmas, which uses meat broth with a variety of sweet and savoury ingredients featuring crushed almonds. This sauce is prepared before Christmas Day and made in a large enough quantities to last until after Epiphany. It is served as is or accompanied by a slice of coc de Nadal (Christmas sponge cake).
Music pervades all these holidays with a special place for Christmas carols. Choirs on the island perform delightful traditional Christmas carols in churches and auditoriums and New Year’s Day is ushered in with concerts in many places.
Sports lovers can top off the year on December 31st by taking part in the many races held that day. At night, there is wide choice of restaurants, hotels and clubs to see the year out in or the twelve chimes of midnight can be followed in village and city squares to the accompaniment of music.
On January 5th, the eve of Epiphany, the cavalcade of the Three Wise Men becomes the protagonist almost all over the islands, a magical evening for children. The Wise Men arrive by land or by sea, laden with presents and the processions usually conclude with fireworks displays.
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